Voice-based processing systems respond to user-telephoned inquiries by providing an intelligible voice response that provides requested information. Some transactions which are now performed on voice-based processing systems are:
The caller is requested to provide an account number via the telephone keypad, at which point, the processor employs the account number to find an account balance and returns the balance to the caller; PA1 The system provides a caller with information such as current interest rate; PA1 The system enters information from the caller into a data base, such as the status of a sales order or a repair call; PA1 The system places outgoing calls, automatically, for service orders or appointments, using data from a host computer.
Most voice-based processing systems employ an interface processor which includes a voice processing unit (VPU). A VPU replaces a human intermediary between the telephone and a host processor. One such prior art VPU is the IBM 9270 which communicates with its host processor through the vehicle of screen transactions. In specific, when the VPU receives an inquiry from a user, its associated processor requests a "screen" of data from a connected host processor, which screen includes the requested data.
A screen is a pixel image prepared by application software in the host processor in response to an inquiry. The screen is supplied to the VPU and its associated processor for the purpose of providing an answer in response to the user's inquiry.
In order to speed up a host processor's responses to user initiated inquiries, the prior art has employed the concept of "priming" applications running on a host processor. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,254 to Shorter, assigned to the same assignee as this application, a method is disclosed for allowing a host processor to establish within itself a number of virtual machines, each of which possesses a "primed" application. Shorter positions a "pool manager" within the host computer which acts to start a plurality of applications so that they are immediately ready when a request for access is received. This procedure avoids the log-in delays which occur when an application is initialized. After the applications are primed, each virtual machine within the host processor goes into an "idle" state and awaits a user to request the initiation of a session. Shorter also describes an algorithm for allocating virtual machines within the processor to assume that sufficient primed applications are available for the anticipated level of requests.
In order for the Shorter system to function, modifications must be made to the software operating system of the host processor to enable the establishment of the virtual machines. It is often desirable that a VPU operate in conjunction with a plurality of host processors which are not necessarily compatible at the operating system level. The Shorter system, in such an arrangement, requires that each host processor's operating system be altered. This is not only an expensive proposition, but it is often resisted by the owners of host processors for fear that any change to the operating system will alter other unrelated functions running on the host.
In addition to being able to access multiple hosts, a VPU should also be capable of handling multiple host sessions with different applications, in response to a single phone call. Likewise, a VPU should be able to map, via a virtual session, an incoming inquiry to any available host processor that contains a primed application capable of responding to the incoming request. Prior art describing various virtual session and machine arrangements can be found in the following U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,421 to Kirsch et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,835 to Gueldner et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,466 to Buhrke et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,447 to Duvall et al.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a voice processing interface system which enables access to a plurality of host processors, without requiring modification to the operating systems of those host processors.
It is an other object of this invention to provide a voice processing interface unit which enables a plurality of host sessions to be established in response to a single telephone inquiry.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a voice processing interface unit which employs screen interface communications with a plurality of host processors.